The Fallen Angel
by karenpark
Summary: 2 years after Loki and his army tried to invade Earth, the body of a 16 year old girl falls to the Earth. Who is she? More importantly...why is she here? OCxOC, possible character death
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: If I owned the Avengers, all the male characters would have fallen in love with a girl named Karen. Seeing as how that's not true yet...I don't own the Avengers...yet.

Chapter 1

From the Sky

The world was bright and hostile when she awoke. Everything was disorienting-the pure, stark white of the walls, the artificial lights, the pungent hospital odor. Her vision was blurred; she could only see smudges of color against a bright white background. The rest of her body tingled and burned at the same time-she couldn't move. When at last her vision had been restored and she had gained some control over her limbs, she struggled to sit up and surveyed her surroundings. The room was clean and white, just like any other hospital room. Her hospital gown was thin and papery, not much comfort against the stale hospital air being circulated and humidified by a worn humidifier on the bedside table. There were no flowers by her bed, nor were there any cards. Before she could get out of the bed, the door to the cramped room had opened.

"Don't move," said a deep voice. "We have enough firepower to flatten an entire city pointing directly at you and I don't think you'd like to see what happens if I order them to fire."

A tall man entered the room. His black jacket flapped theatrically behind him as he strode forward. One of his eyes was covered by a worn leather patch, but the other eye glared at her with all the ferocity of a lion defending its young.

"Who are you?" she snapped, glaring back at him.

"I think I should be the one asking that," he said, leaning against the wall casually.

She stared at him, her gaze unwavering. When he shifted, she studied his posture: he leaned ever so slightly to the left, a sign that he was harboring some sort of weapon on his right.

"Okay, then. I'm Nick Fury," he said, crossing his arms. "It's your turn."

"I…don't know," she said slowly, surprised. "I don't…know."

She blinked in surprise. She had known almost immediately that Fury had hidden a weapon somewhere deep within his black coat just by looking at the way he stood, but she did not know her own name. She looked at him again and cocked her head to the right, bewildered. She frowned, concentrating. Her name…her name…

"SHIELD doesn't like liars," growled Fury. "Or actors."

"I don't know," she repeated. "I don't know…I don't know who I am, or how I got here."

He glared at her with one eye and pointed to the television.

"_That's_ how you got here."

She watched, astounded, as a tiny black figure toppled from the sky. A news reporter was screaming frantically into her microphone. The tiny black dot grew bigger and bigger, until she recognized herself. She was free-falling, dropping from the clouds. The news reporter was still screaming, garbling incomprehensible words at the screen. Fire trucks and police cars had formed a ring around where she would potentially fall. Police officers and firefighters were struggling to keep the hordes of people from pushing their way into the ring.

"Why isn't anyone trying to catch me?" she cried in shock.

"You were going at a few hundred miles per hour. Nothing would be able to catch you. The only potential person that could have caught you without killing themselves was Tony and he was in California at the time. On his way, mind you, but he didn't exactly get there in time."

There was a colossal thump as she landed. The impact of her fall had created a huge crater, nearly 50 feet out from where she had fallen. The fire trucks and police cars that had been parked around the circular perimeter were flipped onto their sides, forced over by the impact of her fall. Black cars suddenly pulled into the TV screen. Nick Fury was the first to step out, followed by a woman with brilliant red hair. The on-screen Fury took out a small black device from his pocket and pressed it-the screen went black.

"You just appeared. Just in the middle of nowhere, thousands of feet in the air, you just appeared. And then you hurtled a couple thousand feet from the air, straight onto Earth, without a single scratch on yourself. Now, tell me…_who are you_?" Fury emphasized each word angrily.

She stared at him evenly.

"I…don't…know," she repeated, and her voice trembled slightly.

Fury stepped back, momentarily confused by the truth in her words. "Goddamnit," he muttered. "You really don't know."

"No." She looked defiantly into his eye, but she was really on the verge of tears.

"We're taking you to SHIELD headquarters," he stated. "Get her clothed properly and send her down to the garage."

Two nurses rushed into the room. They placed a plain white t-shirt and a pair of black shorts onto the bed, along with undergarments.

"Please dress," said one of the nurses, forcing a smile. "We'll take you down to the garage when you're ready."

She was slightly numb from the footage, but she managed to dress herself. When she was done, one of the nurses reappeared. She lifted her arm to hand the woman the hospital gown, and the nurse flinched away. She was obviously very afraid. Slowly, she let her arm drop and the gown slithered onto the floor.

"Thank you," she whispered.

The nurse forced another smile and led her out the door. Fury was in a black car, one similar to one of the cars in the video.

"We're on a tight schedule here. The Avengers aren't going to sit around for long."

The car ride was silent. Within an hour, they had arrived at an airport. She found herself being ushered into a private plane, one with STARK INDUSTRIES written in huge block letters across it. She stumbled onto the plane, overwhelmed.

"The people are afraid of me."

"Yes," replied Fury, eyeing her.

"You carry a weapon on your right," she murmured.

Fury snarled and reached for his gun. "How'd you know that?"

"You lean slightly to the left when you stand," she continued sadly. "Fury, I know that, but I don't know my own name."

She looked up, her dark hair falling in curls around her face. Her navy blue eyes were filled with a deep sorrow. A sorrow that was centuries old-a sorrow that shouldn't have belonged to the eyes of a 16 year old.

* * *

WOOHOO!

First chapter is up!

I have the next couple chapters written out, but I'd like to see some responses (*AHEM* reviews) before I post them.

Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Diamonds and Blood

She hadn't realized it, but she had fallen asleep in the car. One moment they were at the hospital-the next, SHIELD Headquarters. The building was huge and graceful-with the sun behind it, its soaring towers seemed even more impressive. She followed Fury into the building. The lobby was simple, she noted, but also very protected. The women that stood at the counter had friendly but sharp eyes that stared after her as she followed Fury. The security guards all carried guns; they also had a second gun hidden somewhere within their jackets as a protective measure. Cameras and lasers followed her wherever she went, she felt them despite the fact that they weren't supposed to be detected by any average human. Once they had passed through the confusing maze of hallways, Fury, the girl and a few guards arrived at an unmarked door. Fury felt cautiously around the doorway and pressed. Immediately, a red wave of light enveloped both of them.

"Nick Fury, confirmed," said a mechanical voice. "Visitor, confirmed. Guard 431, Guard 912 and Guard 547, confirmed."

The door slid open to admit them. She stepped into the room, knowing well that she was being watched. A strange arrangement of people sat at the polished black table. A tall man with slightly tousled dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes was seated on the right, his brow furrowed in concentration. A large man with shoulder-length blonde hair and intense blue eyes stood by the window, his huge arms crossed. A much shorter man, wearing sunglasses and an impeccable suit was sitting on a reclining chair with his feet up on the table. A woman with vivid red hair, the one that had been in the video of her falling with Fury, and a man she did not recognize were sitting together, whispering furtively. Another man was seated at the table; he was silent and timid-looking. Fury stood at the table, looking around at the strange collection of people around him as if he was the father and they were his children.

"Tony, get your feet off the table," reprimanded the man with the dark blonde hair.

"Before you guys confuse her with your superpowers," interrupted Fury. "Introduce yourselves."

The man that had just spoken was first. "I'm Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. I serve as the leader for this team."

"I'm Tony Stark," said Tony, finally getting his feet off the table. "But of course, you know that."

"Natasha Romanoff," said the flame-haired woman. "Some people call me the Black Widow."

"Clint Barton," said the man next to her. "Also called Hawkeye."

"I am Thor Odinson, God of Thunder and heir to the throne of Asgard." His voice was booming and he spoke in a manner different from the others.

"Bruce Banner," said the quiet man.

"Or Hulk!" crowed Tony. "When he gets angry-"

"That's enough," interrupted Fury. "This one would _like_ to introduce herself to you guys, but she really has no idea who she is."

Natasha stood up, her eyes flashing. "Then she's dangerous," she said sharply.

"She doesn't seem extraordinary at all, other than the fact that she fell thousands and thousands of feet," continued Fury, ignoring her. "Banner and Stark, come with me."

Tony and Bruce both stood up and began to follow, leaving the rest of the team confused as ever. Before the door good close, Natasha had stopped it forcefully with her right boot.

"I think we deserve to know whatever Tony and Bruce know," she said, looking evenly into Fury's eye.

"I think you're an idiot," said Fury, exasperated. "We don't know anything about her yet."

The door slid closed as Natasha's boot slunk away. Fury stood at the very front, leading the very confused girl, the two Avengers and three guards through another confusing maze of hallways and doors.

"Have her tested genetically," instructed Fury. "Banner, she's some kind of extraterrestial being so test her for whatever rays she might be throwing off."

"You think she might be radioactive?" asked Tony, already setting up a computer file. "Jarvis, open a new file and call it "Fallen Angel". Copies on my private drive, two ghosts and one that goes on the SHIELD drive."

"No...but we can never be too sure," replied Fury, answering his question. "Have her tested and figure out what she is and where she's from."

Fury left the room as quickly as he had arrived. She was left alone with the two strange men. She looked at them suspiciously, her dark blue eyes hostile.

"Listen," said Bruce slowly, his voice gentle and hesitant. "We aren't going to hurt you. We just want to know who you are and how you got here. Is that okay?"

Tony stepped back, knowing that his smooth-talking wouldn't win her over. In a situation like this, Bruce's gentle, soothing voice would be easier to trust than his own devilish, witty remarks.

"I don't want to be tested," she said defiantly. "I don't know what you're going to do to me."

She was now sitting on a smooth white examining table, glaring defiantly into Bruce's eyes. Tony turned, intrigued-this girl had spirit. Bruce was using his pleading voice, his intense eyes looking straight into hers. Tony had seen Bruce use this technique before-it was nearly impossible to defy his desperate, smoldering eyes. She would be convinced within the next few minutes.

"You'll know everything we know," pleaded Bruce, who had been trying to convince her for nearly an hour now.

"I think it'd be faster if you Hulked out and forced her to do the tests," muttered Tony.

Tony was getting impatient. He had been standing and sitting for the past hour, listening to Bruce's ever-patient voice lulling her into submission. Despite Bruce's best efforts at persuading her, she remained defiant. Each time Bruce thought of a new argument, she thought of a counterargument, and then a counterargument to the counterargument. He listened impatiently as Bruce spoke to her again in lulling tones, his greying head of hair bobbing as he explained to her with his hands the procedures and the reasons she should do them.

"Oh-for Gods sake!" roared Tony. "You fell out of the goddamn sky. We know you aren't some kind of stunt double doing stunts for a movie and we know you didn't go skydiving. You have no idea who you are or what you're doing here. Unless you want to sit around here all day trying to think your way past this, I suggest you do the damned tests!

Bruce stared at him, as did the girl. She looked scared and confused, but there was a new touch of emotion to her eyes.

"Fine," she murmured meekly. "I'll do it."

Tony huffed a sigh, surprised that his outburst had worked. "Thank you."

Bruce smiled at him. "I think you and I should have some anger management classes together."

"Shut up and let's get started," muttered Tony.

The rest of the afternoon involved lots of intervention from Jarvis and needles. All the tests were inconclusive. She didn't have any rays radiating out of her, as did most other extraterrestial beings. At nearly four in the morning, Tony and Bruce had conducted every medical test on her known to mankind. Each one had shown up inconclusive.

"Nothing. I've checked her for the entire electromagnetic spectrum...there isn't even the slightest trace of gamma rays coming from her. Unless there's some kind of electromagnetic wave that humans haven't discovered yet, she's clean." Bruce seemed frustrated.

"We ran into a problem with her bloodwork," stated Tony. "It's not that she doesn't have blood," he said quickly. "She has blood, it's just...there's no DNA."

"What?" asked Clint. "So sorry, I'm not exactly a doctor but even I know that people are supposed to have DNA."

"There's no DNA. Her body functions like a normal human being's...her heart pumps blood, her lung oxygenates it, she urinates and defecates, or at least she should, she has a blood pressure, she digests food and needs water to survive." Tony pointed to the air, where a digital diagram of her body was revolving slowly. "There's just...no DNA. I don't know how her cells are regenerating without DNA, but they are. There's no DNA that distinguishes her from other people."

"She could commit the perfect crime and leave behind no DNA. If blood analysts took samples of her blood and analyzed it, they wouldn't be able to find her identity because there would be no DNA to analyze," explained Bruce, addressing the astounded Avengers.

"She'd be the perfect assassin," murmured Natasha.

"Theoretically, yes. But she isn't exactly here for that," interrupted Fury.

"There's one more thing, though," said Tony. "She didn't have any DNA, but there are some other...particles in her blood that we can distinguish her by. Hospitals don't have the technology...it's just something I developed back before I had Starkonium, when I had to use palladium. It tests for levels of toxicity, but apparently it can pick up on this too."

Tony turned and ordered Jarvis to bring up a new screen.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said in his best show-voice. "Kindly turn your attention to the screen."

The Avengers and Fury looked obediently at the screen. Projected into mid-air was a zoomed up slide of blood. The red blood cells were faded, a backdrop to the small crystal-like shards dancing on the slide.

"What are they?" asked Pepper from the back of the room.

"That is an excellent question, my dear," he said. "Frankly, I don't know. Notice how the red blood cells are in the background...I had to focus the microscope to a point that isn't used to examine blood. Normal doctors would have missed something like this. The only reason I have this image is because I knew I should look for it."

"They look like...diamonds," decided Thor, wrestling with his words. "We have far superior stones on Asgard, however 'diamond' would be the most suitable word to describe this mysterious particle."

"Also note the size of the red blood cells in the background," he said, pointing. "They're tiny compared to the red blood cells."

"So...these...diamonds," said Steve, struggling to comprehend Tony's explanation. "They're the only thing that's unique about her?"

"Yes."

"But what about my DNA and the Hulk's? Surely, our DNA must be...different," he challenged.

"The serum that enhanced your abilities simply took your DNA and enhanced it. All the flaws were eliminated. All the weaknesses were replaced. Even the normal portions of your DNA were deleted and replaced with superior genes. The Hulk's DNA has also been altered, not eliminated entirely."

"So...what is she?" asked Natasha.

"I'm not exactly sure," concluded Bruce. "But for the time being, I think it'd be best if she stayed under the custody of SHIELD and the Avengers."

* * *

Reviews would be appreciated! Especially constructive criticism (:

I'm no expert on the Marvel Universe...so please forgive any mistakes!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Stark Tower

Fury made a few quick phone calls to SHIELD, and it was confirmed that the girl would stay with the Avengers to undergo more testing.

"Wipe the memories of the nurses and doctors that took care of her at the hospital," muttered Fury into his phone. "If the world finds out that a girl appeared on earth from outerspace and is just living among us, there might be a mass panic and we'd like to avoid that as much as possible."

Fury made a few more phone calls. The girl watched in amazement-this man didn't seem different. In fact, he seemed the least extraordinary out of the people gathered in the tower, yet he paced the room giving orders.

"I don't want anyone knowing about her," said Fury, finally addressing the Avengers. "After the...Incident two years ago, people will panic if they find out that some girl from outerspace is wandering the world. The news will broadcast her death in the next couple days and hopefully, she'll be forgotten."

The Avengers nodded solemnly, their gazes wandering between Fury and the girl.

"She'll be staying here, in Stark Tower. We'll get her fake IDs and whatever else she'll need."

"Whoa, whoa. Who says she can stay in _my_ tower?" Tony stepped forward with his arms raised. "What if she's dangerous?"

"She's not." Fury was already leaving the room. "Now set up the floor beneath Clint before I put her in _your_ room."

Tony muttered to himself, but eventually commanded Jarvis to prepare the floor beneath Clint's for her.

The top 6 floors of Stark Tower now served as the semi-permanent home of the Avengers. Stark refused to be separated from Stark Tower, and there was frankly no other way to keep the Avengers together other than housing them in the same building. After a short argument with Fury and an even shorter argument with Natasha, Tony had agreed to make arrangements for the Avengers to live in the Stark Tower. The top floor was occupied by Bruce, who preferred to work and live alone. The top floor had been specifically fortified using Stark technology to ensure that there weren't any "incidents". The high ceilings of the top floor also allowed for any unexpected explosions from the "other" Bruce. The floor beneath him was conquered by Thor, who was forced to give up the top floor to Bruce only for their safety; he preferred to be close to the sky. Right under Thor was Captain America, who was really content with any floor. Tony and Pepper reserved the middle floor, where the landing station for the Iron Man was. Just below Tony and Pepper was Natasha's floor; her floor was divided equally into her living space, her closet and an arsenal. Beneath Natasha was Clint, who had spent weeks remodeling the spacious floor into a suitable home, shooting range and arrow-making headquarters.

She was deposited onto the floor just beneath Clint's, along with a small black rectangle that they called a "credit card". Supposedly, she could go on any online store and buy whatever she wanted or needed. "Except weapons of mass destruction," according to Tony.

Although she had been given permission to wander the building, she didn't want to leave her floor. It was bare and impersonal-she wanted to keep it that way. She didn't want to stay in this strange world, where she knew no one and no one knew her. Where she was from-wherever that was-people had to have known her. The people were only afraid of her. Her floor had been temporarily furnished with the necessities of the average human home, according to Pepper. She curled up into a little ball on the couch in what Pepper referred to as the "living room", trying to remember. Despite the silence, nothing came to her. She was still as clueless as ever about her identity and where she had been before her sudden arrival on Earth. This world was overwhelming and frightening...she didn't belong here. Her future seemed grim and unpromising. Her past...unknown. She closed her eyes, but sleep never came to her.

She sat alone, in the dark for several hours. A mechanical voice announced dinner, but the announcement went ignored.

"We gave you that credit card for a reason, you know," said a familiar voice behind her.

"I don't need it," she replied bluntly. "You can take it back."

"It's a platinum card."

"Like I said, I don't care."

She turned her head just a little, just enough to see Bruce walking into the bare room.

"What are you doing here?" she asked flatly. "I'm not really in the mood to talk."

"They're having lamb chops for dinner, and I'm not too fond of them," he replied simply, walking closer. "Why didn't you join us? I know Jarvis notified you."

"It's not like I belong here," she muttered bitterly. "I've seen the way they all look at me."

"They're hesitant to accept you-" he paused. "But I can guarantee that they'll come around. Can I show you something?"

She didn't reply, but he came to the bed anyways. He lifted a small, clear tablet and raised it to the sunlight. It was clearly Stark technology-sleek, refined. He tapped it a few times and a video came up. There was a flash of green and incomprehensible yelling. She turned, intrigued by the noises coming from the small tablet.

A huge monster, muscles rippling, was tearing through a city. With each step it took, the concrete groaned and collapsed. The monster pounded its chest and roared again, its ominous scream echoed by the hoards of people shrieking and scrambling for cover. It crushed through entire buildings, smashing cars and trucks like they were toys. The green monster charged towards the screen, roaring and smashing everything in its path.

"What was that?" she asked.

"That was me," replied Bruce. "When I'm angry, I turn into that big, green...monster. You think people are scared of you? Imagine what they're thinking when they see me like that."

"Point proven," she said quietly, smiling at him.

She liked Bruce. A little more than the other Avengers, at least. He was quiet and gentle, very unlike the much louder and much more obnoxious Tony Stark. He was a gentleman, but in a different way than from Steve. Bruce seemed genuinely gentle...docile, even. His voice was quiet and murmuring, practically unheard among the louder voices of his teammates. He didn't seem disturbed by the fact that he was ignored; in fact, he almost seemed to prefer it. Everything he had said about her testing had been true; he murmured the results of each test to her the moment the results came out, trying to explain the significance of each one. He was also the first person willing to somewhat explain the holograms around her, as well as the sleek tablets and other equipment that surrounded her at Stark Tower. She looked at him and cocked her head. His slightly greying hair and the thin glasses perched on the edge of his nose made him look older than the others, but all the more patient. She tried to smile at him, a rather forced, crooked smile but a smile nevertheless. He accepted the smile graciously, grinning until his teeth flashed.

"Now that's something I'll treasure," he said rather happily. "A smile from you."

"I'll treasure your smile too."

She smiled again, a bit more naturally this time.

"I might have to brag about this to the team," he said teasingly. "I won you over faster than any of the other guys."

She laughed-for the first time. He looked at her, astounded.

"You have a beautiful laugh," he said seriously.

Her laugh was bright and clear, almost musical. He chuckled along with her.

"I'd love to stay, but I really need to go tend to my latest experiment before it starts throwing off potentially life-threatening rays. I'll come back tomorrow, and perhaps you can join us for breakfast."

He stood up and she watched him reluctantly. "Thank you, Bruce."

"Of course."

He left the room, closing the door softly behind him. She turned towards the window and looked out at the skyline of the beautiful city-New York, it was called. Her legs pulled up close to her body, she leaned on her knees and stared out at the night sky.

* * *

There isn't a Bruce x OC here! I'm just using his gentle/soft-spoken character as the first one to really approach her.

I know the beginning's a bit slow, but things will pick up soon, I promise!


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